Scientists are hoping to receive a message from aliens imminently, after waiting for 30 years. But the chances are slim: the message was sent to a star that does not appear to have any planets, and there will only be an hour to hear the message. It is 40 years since Japanese astronomers Masaki Morimoto and Hisashi Hirabayashi composed a message intended to show what humans are like and how life works on Earth, and send it into the cosmos. They did so using a telescope at Stanford University and sent a message to Altair, a star 16.7 light years away that could potentially have life around it. Decades on, a team led by Shinya Narusawa at the University of Hyogo will use a large Japanese telescope to try and see if anything is sending back a reply to our message. Astronomers believe that it is conceivable a reply would come around now, given the distance to the star and the time that has elapsed. They will listen for messages coming from the star on 22 August. That date was chosen because of its significance in Japan’s Tanabata star festival, which symbolically celebrates the meeting of two deities Orihime and Hikoboshi, the latter of which is represented by Altair. Narusawa is hopeful that aliens are out there somewhere and that the message could have really been sent towards alien life around the distant star. “A large number of exoplanets have been detected since the 1990s,” he told Japanese newspaper The Asahi Shimbun. “Altair may have a planet whose environment can sustain life.” The original message was sent on 15 August, 1983, as part of a collaboration with a Japanese weekly comic anthology. But the attempt to contact aliens never seemed entirely serious, and so any scientists involved are unlikely to be disappointed. In 2008, when the email was unearthed, Hirabayashi admitted that the pair had been drunk when they came up with the idea of sending the message, according to Gizmodo at the time. “I believe in aliens, but they are very difficult to find,” he said then. He also noted that he had received an array of messages from schoolchildren about the message, which had made sending it worth it. Read More Exact number of people needed for a Mars colony found – and it’s less than you think Strange hidden ‘structures’ hundreds of metres deep discovered on dark side of moon Russia’s Luna-25 spacecraft crashes into moon in failed mission

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A convicted Colorado pipe bomber will receive a fresh trial after spending 30 years behind bars for a string of attacks that killed two people. James Genrich, 60, was sentenced to life imprisonment for the bombings which killed Maria Delores Gonzales, 12, and 43-year-old Henry Ruble in Grand Junction in 1991. Genrich was found guilty in 1993 of three counts of use of an explosive or incendiary device to commit a felony, one count of third-degree assault and two counts of first-degree murder -extreme indifference. He was convicted after a prosecution expert – Agent John O’Neil of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives – told the jury that marks on the bombs must have been made by the suspect’s tools, ruling out the possibility of any other tools being responsible. Now Judge Richard Gurley of the 21st Judicial District has ruled that advances in forensics and science mean that the expert’s testimony was flawed, reported The Denver Post. In a 30-page order, the judge ruled that the expert could not accurately say that no other tools could have made the marks on the bomb. The judge ruled that the testimony violated Genrich’s constitutional due process and right to a fair trial. “The court finds that the conclusion that the defendant’s tools caused the cuts to the wires from the bombs to the exclusion of every other tool was a crucial piece of evidence in the defendant’s case and without it, the people’s case would have been almost entirely circumstantial,” the judge wrote. Mesa County District Attorney Dan Rubinstein says that his office stands by the tool evidence and plans to appeal the ruling. “There was a lot of other evidence in the case other than that, and that’s part of my disagreement with the decision,” he said. “The evidence in the case was very strong and went well beyond the tool-mark evidence.” Genrich was represented in his appeal by the Innocence Project, a non-profit dedicated to overturning convictions of wrongly convicted prisoners. “Mr Genrich is very pleased that the court granted his request for a new trial,” said Tania Brief, a senior staff attorney on his legal team. The judge set a hearing in the case for 28 July and stated that he intends to formally vacate the conviction for first-degree murder at that time. The pipe bombings started in Mesa County in 1989, with an undetonated device found outside a hotel in April of that year. Three bombs would detonate in 1991, killing the two victims and injuring others. Genrich’s home was raided after investigators received a tip, and they found pliers, fuses, a circuit board and a multi-tool. The jury was also told that Genrich lived within walking distance of two of the three bombing locations, and had been seen in the area. Prosecutors also said that he had threatened to kill in the past and had expressed frustration with women. Genrich is currently being held at the state’s Arkansas Valley Correctional Facility in Crowley County. Read More Colorado lawmakers sue colleagues over closed-door meetings Could a ‘fake’ same-sex couple force the Supreme Court to revisit a case targeting LGBT+ rights? Automaker Stellantis signs deal company seeking to mine in Nebraska for rare earths needed in EVs

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A host of House Democrats, led by Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, are urging the Justice Department to launch a probe into Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas “for consistently failing to report significant gifts he received from Harlan Crow and other billionaires for nearly two decades in defiance of his duty under federal law.” In the 11 August letter addressed to US Attorney General Merrick Garland, the Democrats cited the bombshell reports by ProPublica, alleging that Justice Thomas did not disclose luxurious trips and gifts from his billionaire friend Harlan Crow. They wrote that Mr Thomas did not disclose the gifts, “despite certifying repeatedly that his financial disclosure forms are ‘accurate, true, and complete’ in certifications ‘subject to civil and criminal sanctions.’” Supreme Court justices are required to file annual reports disclosing “financial income, gifts and reimbursements, property interests, liabilities, and transactions,” the letter states. While some expenses may be exempt from this requirement, the letter continues, “that exemption does not extend to the officer’s receipt of complimentary transportation, such as the extensive private jet, helicopter, and yacht travel received by Justice Thomas.” It then lays out the consequences of violating the Ethics in Government Act, which states that the attorney general can bring a civil action “against any individual who knowingly and willfully falsifies or who knowingly and willfully fails to file or report any information that such individual is required to report pursuant.” The letter lays out the gifts provided to the Supreme Court Justice from Mr Crow and other wealthy businessmen. “ All told, Thomas has received at least 38 designation vacations, 26 private jet flights, eight helicopter flights, VIP passes to sporting events, stays at luxury resorts, and an invitation to an exclusive golf club” and the estimated value of his gifts since his Supreme Court appointment amounts to millions of dollars, according to the letter. The Supreme Court justice’s “consistent failure to disclose gifts and benefits from industry magnates and wealthy, politically active executives highlights a blatant disregard for judicial ethics as well as apparent legal violations,” the Democrats wrote. “Refusing to hold him accountable would set a dangerous precedent,” they wrote. The letter is signed by Reps Ocasio-Cortez, Jerry Nadler, Jamie Raskin, Hank Johnson, and Ted Lieu. Mr Thomas has been under scrutiny over the past few months following the blockbuster ProPublica reports. On Thursday, New Jersey Rep Bill Pascrell called for his resignation: “He’s corrupt as hell and should resign today,” the lawmaker wrote. Similarly, Rep Gerry Connolly wrote, “Thomas has repeatedly brought dishonor and ethical malpractice to our highest Court,” adding, “I reiterate my call that he must resign. This is exactly why we need SCOTUS ethics reform.” Read More US appeals court dismisses motion challenging permits for natural gas pipeline Lavish vacations, private jets and VIP passes: How wealthy donors put Clarence Thomas in the lap of luxury ‘Corrupt as hell’: Clarence Thomas faces fresh calls to resign after more billionaire gifts revealed

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